www.globeandmail.com By JUDITH TIMSON Saturday, February 22, 2003 - Page B2 Closing Markets

Friday, Feb. 21

S&P/TSX -7.48 6558.63 DJIA 103.15 8018.11 S&P500 11.07 848.17 Nasdaq 17.79 1349.02 Venture 7.17 1102.2 DJUK 1.47 151.27 Nikkei -137.38 8513.54 HSeng -139.62 9250.86 DJ Net .35 40.05 Gold (NY) -1.30 351.80 Oil (NY) +0.84 35.58 CRB Index +1.55 248.09 30 yr Can. +0.02 5.51 30 yr U.S. +0.05 4.85 CDN$ buys US$ -0.0005 0.6643 Yen +0.3400 78.9000 Euro +0.0016 0.6159 US$ buys CDN$ +0.0011 1.5054 Yen +0.6000 118.7800 Euro +0.0031 0.9272

The day I stopped worshipping at the altar of convenience was the day our son came home with the shocking news that his bank accounts had been emptied out in a debit card scam. A careful money manager, he still had his card tucked safely in his wallet, the PIN number known only to him. But that didn't stop it from being copied while he made a purchase, and then used in a series of transactions that took place in Venezuela, of all places.

"Been travelling lately?" asked a puzzled teller when he went in to inquire about his account. He was lucky. There was no way any bank official or fraud squad gumshoe could believe that a 17-year-old who demonstrably had been in chemistry class in Toronto had engineered those transactions. He also had parents who were aggressive in calling both police and bank officials. All his money was quickly reinstated.

Still, it felt like a spooky international caper movie, one in which none of us wished to star. And it changed our minds about the casual use of debit cards to make purchases.

Canadians are the most frequent users of debit cards "in the universe," according to one bank official, with close to 2.5 billion transactions a year. One Interac official said: "People can leave home with their keys and their banking card and know they don't have to worry about anything else."

Oh yeah? While banks are loath to release figures about how much debit card fraud is going on, they do admit it's enough to be worried about, and it's growing. Police have no difficulty calling it an epidemic. In most major cities, in places as varied as pizza outlets and gas bars, arrests have been made in debit card scams, most of which involve using fake equipment to copy cards and PIN numbers.

But we don't really want to think about this, just as we don't want to think about credit card fraud, or identity theft in general. It's too unsettling. It gnaws at our sense of security; it cuts into our fast-paced lives. It erodes even our pride in progress. Paranoids might characterize it as a technological footrace between the dark forces and the light -- as fast as we come up with ways to make our financial transactions quicker and easier, the bad guys are right behind us, coming up with ways to steal our money.

Just last week, a company in Omaha admitted that a hacker had gained "unauthorized" entry to millions of credit card numbers -- some of which may be held by Canadians -- and these accounts are now at risk. Philippa Lawson is legal counsel for the Public Interest Advocacy Centre in Ottawa, which is preparing a report on all identity theft -- the unauthorized use of personal information, which includes debit card fraud. Ms. Lawson says that while she's never heard of a debit card case in which people don't get their money back, it is still "a disaster for the people it hits -- it totally turns your life upside down."

Even well-informed, diligent consumers are not aware they could be on the hook if they cannot prove fraud. Banks and other institutions only voluntarily honour a code of restitution. Police and financial institutions are issuing security advisories urging consumers to beware of shoulder-surfing, and even to change their PINs if they've had the same one too long. But Ms. Lawson says it's unreasonable to tell consumers to change their numbers frequently. "How many passwords can the human brain remember?"

The truth is, we don't want to change our lives. We want the big easy, and we're prepared to put up with what we still consider the remote possibility of being robbed in exchange for the ease of transaction. Still, the onus is on the consumer to be vigilant at cash machines or in stores. A clerk should never be allowed to swipe a debit card beneath eye level, or even swipe it twice; when a card is in play, the owner should never take his or her eyes off it.

It's also up to the card owner to note not only account activity but lack of activity. If a purchase did not go through, it may mean a fake machine was used, and a PIN could be in peril. It sounds dire. "But think back years ago," says Sara Feldman, a spokeswoman for the Interac Assocation. "Back then you could go to the bank, take out $30 and be mugged on the street. You'd never get that back."

There's always some consolation. judithtimson@hotmail.com

www.northjersey.com Wednesday, January 22, 2003

SEOUL, South Korea - The chief North Korean delegate to talks with South Korea hinted Tuesday he was unwilling to discuss an issue of vital concern to his hosts and their allies: North Korea's suspected nuclear weapons program.

The comments by Kim Ryong Song, the North Korean delegate, raised doubts about whether South Korea would make any headway during the four-day talks in urging the North to drop its nuclear programs.

"Let's not care about the situation surrounding us and concentrate on resolving internal issues," Kim said after arriving with his delegation.

North Korea has argued that the dispute about "the nuclear issue" is with the United States and does not involve South Korea or other nations.

NABLUS, West Bank - Israeli forces staged the biggest demolition in the West Bank in years on Tuesday, destroying 62 shops in a Palestinian village.

Also Tuesday, Israel's Supreme Court relaxed a ban on soldiers using Palestinians as "human shields" or ordering Palestinians to knock on doors of Islamic militants' houses. Human rights advocates denounced the decision.

In Gaza, Palestinians fired rockets at two Jewish settlements, damaging buildings but causing no casualties, settlers and the military said.

In the village of Nazlat Issa, next to the West Bank border with Israel, seven bulldozers guarded by 300 soldiers destroyed shops and market stalls.

In other developments, Israeli police discovered a car carrying a large amount of explosives in the Israeli Arab city of Um el-Fahm, near the line with the West Bank. Three people escaped from the car, which police blew up.

CARACAS, Venezuela - Nobel Peace Prize laureate Jimmy Carter proposed a plan Tuesday to lead Venezuela to elections and end a 51-day-old strike against President Hugo Chavez, which has dramatically cut production in the No. 5 oil-exporting country.

Carter's ideas were the first concrete proposals to emerge from more than two months of talks between the government and Venezuela's opposition, which called the strike to demand early elections or Chavez's resignation.

Both Chavez and opposition leaders reacted cautiously, saying they merited study.

Carter said the first plan would amend Venezuela's constitution to shorten presidential and legislative terms of office and stage early general elections.

It calls for Venezuela's opposition to end the strike and for the government, which has a congressional majority, to move quickly on changing the constitution.

Carter's second plan calls for both sides to prepare for a binding recall referendum on Chavez's presidency in August, the midpoint of Chavez's six-year term. Venezuela's constitution allows such a vote.

BERLIN - Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder failed to win a clean victory Tuesday in his legal fight to quash German media rumors that his marriage is on the rocks.

Schroeder's lawyer vowed to take the case to a trial after a mixed ruling by a Berlin court, which upheld a ban on a newspaper correspondent repeating the speculation but lifted a gag order on one of the newspapers he writes for.

The hearing was the latest development in the image-conscious chancellor's efforts to keep the press out of his private life, just as his popularity sags with the German economy.

After legal action last year to silence reports that he dyes his hair, Schroeder obtained injunctions against two regional newspapers not to repeat their reports in early December of rumored problems with his fourth wife, Doris Schroeder-Koepf.

• From news service reports

www.forbes.com Reuters, 02.21.03, 1:47 PM ET

NEW YORK, Feb 21 (Reuters) - NYMEX crude oil and refined product futures remained sharply higher Friday afternoon after a gasoline barge exploded at an oil terminal on Staten Island, one of New York City's five boroughs. Exxon Mobil (nyse: XOM - news - people), the owner of the oil terminal, said the barge contained 110,000 barrels of gasoline. Two employees were unaccounted for after the blast and one other employee was injured, Exxon Mobil said. The blast in the narrow Arthur Kill waterway between Staten Island and New Jersey sent plumes of black smoke and flames into the sky. Staten Island makes up the southwestern-most part of New York City. Law enforcement officials said there were no initial indications it was anything but an accident. Fire officials initially said the barge contained propane. "We have low stock cover and events like this makes the market more headline-sensitive," said Jim Ritterbusch, energy market analyst and president of Ritterbusch & Associates in Illinois. At 1332 p.m. EST (1832 GMT) NYMEX April crude , making its debut in the front-month position, traded 69 cents higher at $35.43. It earlier jumped to $35.95, surging $1.21, on news of the blast, and has posted a session low of $35.15. The March contract expired on Thursday with a 37-cent loss at $36.79. In London, April Brent crude traded 58 cents higher at $32.14 a barrel. "The fire, the explosion on the barge, sent everything higher. It's more emotional than anything else," said a NYMEX floor trader. NYMEX March heating oil traded 3.43 cents higher at $1.093 a gallon, after hitting a session high of $1.12 on news of the barge explosion. Forecasts of colder weather in the U.S. Northeast, the nation's biggest user of heating oil, by next week also supported the early gains for heating oil. NYMEX March gasoline was up 3.42 cents at $1.00 a gallon, trading in a range from 97.50 cents to $1.01. U.S. defense officials said the United States and Britain have gathered more than 150,000 military personnel in the Gulf region along with dozens of warships and hundreds of aircraft. U.S. Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld in an interview on U.S. Public Broadcast System, said that the build-up was now sufficient for an attack. "We are at a point where, if the president makes that decision (to attack), the Department of Defense is prepared and has the capabilities and the strategy to do that." The United States will present a new U.N. resolution next week declaring Iraq in "further material breach" of a November resolution ordering Baghdad to disarm, opening the way for military action, a senior official said on Thursday. In other news affecting fundamental factors, OPEC Secretary General Alvaro Silva said in London that the oil producers' group could cover any interruption in Iraqi supplies in the event of war, but poured water on talk of suspending quotas. Nigerian public sector oil workers have ended a six-day pay strike, but have yet to return to export terminals now manned by replacement staff, officials said on Friday. The strikers are expected to be at their posts next week. OPEC-member Nigeria, the world's seventh largest exporter, exports around two million barrels per day (bpd) of crude oil. Its exports were not affected as oil companies used replacement workers at oil terminals during the brief strike. OPEC-member Venezuela, a key U.S. supplier, is still struggling to return crude output to normal levels amid a strike that started Dec. 2. Thursday's government inventory data, showing that distillate stocks, including heating oil, fell 4.6 million barrels to 103.6 million barrels, fostered concerns of a supply crunch amid the forecasts for much colder weather in the U.S. Northeast by next week.

www.canadait.com Friday, February 21, 2003

Computer Modelling Group Ltd. Announces Third Quarter FEBRUARY 21, 2003 - CALGARY, ALBERTA--CMG completed another highly successful quarter in the three months ended December 31, 2002. In the following report on CMG's financial results the term "operational earnings" has been used to more easily allow for the comparison of ongoing results between the reporting periods. The quarterly performance table provides the reconciliation from operational earnings to reported earnings for the respective periods.

The Company recorded quarterly revenues of $3,326,769, operational earnings of $739,284 ($0.10 per share) and cash flow from operations of $897,605 ($0.12 per share) for the three months ended December 31, 2002. These results compare to revenues of $2,634,888, operational earnings of $497,522 ($.07 per share) and cash flow from operations of $560,009 ($0.08 per share) for the comparative quarter ended December 31, 2001. CMG's earnings for the quarter ended December 31, 2002 are $458,784 ($0.06 per share) compared to $497,522 ($0.07 per share) last year.

CMG reported $8,766,242 in revenues, operational earnings of $1,742,913 ($0.24 per share) and cash flow from operations of $2,086,922 ($0.29 per share) for the nine months ended December 31, 2002. These results are consistently up in all categories from revenues of $7,092,834, operational earnings of $1,020,849 ($0.14 per share) and cash flow from operations of $1,130,226 ($0.15 per share) for the nine months ended December 31, 2001. CMG's earnings for the nine months ended December 31, 2002 are $2,362,413 ($0.33 per share) compared to $1,769,992 ($0.24 per share) for the nine months ended December 31, 2001.

"CMG recorded historical high quarterly software licensing revenues of $2.7 million, which is the best evidence of how CMG's products are perceived in the market place," said Kenneth Dedeluk, President and CEO. "It would not be prudent to expect software license sales to grow at this pace quarter over quarter as this last quarter contained a significant level of perpetual license sales. CMG, however, does expect sustainable year over year revenue growth as a result of the innovative and unique solutions in both advanced processes and technological advancements that are introduced in our software products."

CMG's generated $2,678,517 in software license sales for the quarter and $6,148,460 for the nine months ended December 31, 2002, up $1.1 million from the comparable nine months last year. Of these software license revenues, $4.2 million (69 percent) was generated from annuity/maintenance licensing in the nine months ended December 31, 2002, which is an increase of 19 percent from the $3.6 million (71 percent) generated in the comparative period last year. Licensing under perpetual sales was $1.9 million (31 percent) in the nine months ended December 31, 2002 compared to $1.4 million (29 percent) last year.

Consulting and contract research revenues were $2,619,829 for the nine months ended December 31, 2002, up $0.7 million from the $1,891,083 in revenues recorded in the comparable period last year. This business segment's profits for the quarter ended December 31, 2002 were impacted by the political unrest in Venezuela as CMG had geared up for committed work assignments. The third party consultants engaged for these projects were repatriated to Canada in December, thereby reducing the cost burdens on these assignments.

CMG's history of generating strong gross profits continued in this quarter. The gross profit margin for the nine months ended December 31, 2002 was 63 percent and CMG realized a gross profit of $5.5 million, up $1.1 million from the $4.4 million recorded in the nine months ended December 31, 2001. Total cash expenses for the nine months ended December 31, 2002 of $6.6 million were up $0.9 million from the comparative period levels. This was due to both a combination of planned increases in manpower and compensation as well as variable project related third-party contract costs.

"Based upon the continued unrest in Venezuela that has restricted CMG's ability to continue with its previously contracted consulting assignments and the time required to replace this work in other regions of the world, it is anticipated that near term consulting and contract research revenues will be lower than previous quarters," said Kenneth Dedeluk. "However, the economic conditions supporting a strong oil and gas industry activity level continue and it is anticipated that all business segments will provide strong revenues over the long term."

Computer Modelling Group Ltd. is a computer software technology and consulting company serving the oil and gas industry. Clients apply CMG's computer software technology to increase recovery from existing and future reserves. The Company, recognized by oil and gas companies worldwide as a leading developer of reservoir modelling software, has sales and technical support services based in Calgary, Houston, Beijing, London, and Caracas. CMG is the leading supplier of advanced processes reservoir modelling software in the world with a blue chip client base of international oil companies and technology centres in 37 countries. CMG's common shares are listed on the TSX Venture Exchange and trade under the symbol CPU. For more information, please visit CMG's web site at www.cmgl.ca.

Statements in this release that are forward-looking involve risks and uncertainties, including without limitation, continued acceptance of the Company's products, increased levels of competition for the Company and new products and technological changes. The results or events predicted in these statements may differ materially from actual results or events. For more information regarding potential risks, please see the "Business Risks" section of the Company's most recent Annual Report and Annual Information Form filed with Canadian regulatory authorities.

-30-

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION PLEASE CONTACT:

COMPUTER MODELLING GROUP LTD. Kenneth M. Dedeluk President & CEO (403) 531-1300 Email: ken.dedeluk@cmgl.ca

or

COMPUTER MODELLING GROUP LTD. Janet Taylor, C.A. Vice-President, Finance & CFO (403) 531-1300 Email: janet.taylor@cmgl.ca

The TSX Venture Exchange has not reviewed and does not accept responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.

« View Computer Modelling Group Profile

money.cnn.com February 21, 2003: 4:17 PM EST

Treasurys hit by profit-taking after a solid week; economic data, war worries weigh on dollar.

NEW YORK (CNN/Money) - Treasury prices slipped back to the minus column Friday as profit-taking set in after a week of solid gains, though anxiety ahead of the weekend limited the losses.

Around 4:00 p.m. ET, the benchmark 10-year note fell 6/32 of a point in price to 99-27/32, yielding 3.89 percent, while the 30-year bond dropped 21/32 to 107-31/32, yielding 4.85 percent.

The two-year note was off 1/32 of a point to trade at 100-1/32, yielding 1.60 percent. The five-year note lost 3/32 to 100-22/32, yielding 2.85 percent. Yields move in the opposite direction from prices.

Treasurys were relieved at a very benign U.S. inflation reading for January. The consumer price index rose 0.3 percent, exactly as analysts had expected, quelling fears of a repeat of Thursday's surprisingly steep rise in producer prices.

The core CPI, which excludes volatile food and energy costs, was even better behaved, rising just 0.1 percent against forecasts of a 0.2 percent gain.

A 6.6 percent jump in gasoline prices was balanced by surprise falls in the cost of new cars and food, while annual growth in the core measure held at a three-year low of 1.9 percent.

Analysts noted that gasoline prices were up no less than 29 percent on the year and that would act as a tax on consumers, soaking up money that could have been spent on other things.

Also, with producer prices rising much more than retail prices, corporate profit margins were being squeezed, and that was a negative for equities.

Upbeat comments on the economy from Federal Reserve governor Ben Bernanke had little effect, since this is the standard line from the central bank and expectations of a sustained recovery have been disappointed in the past.

Geopolitical tensions were ever-present, with the U.S. seemingly moving a small step closer to war Friday when Turkey's Prime Minister Abdullah Gul said an aid agreement would be reached shortly granting an urgent U.S. request to station troops on its soil.

Turkey and the United States have been wrangling for weeks over the request, raising the possibility that Washington could abandon a planned northern front from Turkey it hopes would lessen the length of any war and reduce U.S. casualties.

A refusal would have complicated the military mission and perhaps delayed an attack.

Dealers have little doubt that war will come. Thursday the United States said it had massed a big enough force in the Gulf to attack Iraq at any time, and senior officials said Washington would seek United Nations approval next week for a possible war. Economic data, war worries weigh on dollar

The U.S. dollar sank to one-week lows versus the euro, hung over from poor U.S. economic data and worries about war in Iraq, but rose against the yen on signs of covert intervention by Japanese authorities.

"This latest pop-up in dollar/yen is probably stealth Bank of Japan intervention, because on a quiet day they can't keep it so covert when Japanese banks buy during U.S. trading hours in unison," said Lara Rhame, U.S. foreign exchange economist at Brown Brothers Harriman in New York.

She was referring to the dollar's jump from near three-week lows around the ¥118.30 level around noon to its current value of ¥118.71, a gain of 0.3 percent from Thursday's New York close.

The euro hit a one-week high of $1.0847 on Friday before easing back to $1.076 on the day.  

-- from staff and wire reports